Kogod in the Media/July 2011

Kogod News

Faculty, Programs, & Quotes

Kautter highlights importance of tax reform aiding small businesses
In a letter to the editor published in the Wall Street Journal, Kogod Tax Center Director David Kautter emphasized the importance of small business in any comprehensive tax reform effort. Kautter recommends a “business tax rate” that would apply to all business income regardless of the form in which it was conducted. “If crafted with the participation of the small-business community, this will ease compliance and increase simplicity and fairness for all businesses, ultimately providing small businesses with the certainty that is essential if our economy is to grow again,” Kautter wrote. View full article (7/19/2011)

Barbara Bird’s Research Shows Common Sense is Key to Entrepreneurship
Developing common sense and learning by doing are more valuable than book learning when it comes to entrepreneurial success, according to Associate Management Professor Barbara Bird’s research, featured on MSN’s Business on Main. “Entrepreneurs who prefer concrete experiments and who continually look for customer contact and feedback that can’t be absorbed through reading typically are more successful,” Bird said. She offers tips for not-so-hands-on learners, such as gaining experience at a job that forces you to make frequent decisions without a lot of thought, such as elementary school teachers. View full article (7/18/2011)

Wendy Boland Examines Consumer Choices
In a Science Daily article, Assistant Marketing Professor Wendy Boland analyzes why up to 60 percent of consumers don’t choose the obvious second choice when their first choice is unavailable. “We found that making a choice between two close options places additional emphasis on the features that differentiate them, making these attributes seem more important to the consumer in a subsequent decision," the authors write. They offer an example: A consumer shopping for a new pen wants an extra fine, felt-point pen. Two such pens exist: a black one and a blue one. The consumer chooses the blue one, but when finding it is unavailable, does not choose the black one. Instead, the consumer purchases a ballpoint blue pen, giving up the extra fine, felt-point attribute for the blue ink. View full article (7/16/2011)

Jennifer Oetzel Analyzes Companies’ Awareness of Political Risks Abroad
International Business Associate Professor Jennifer Oetzel says companies are rarely savvy when it comes to assessing political risks abroad, such as this year’s unrest Libya or Egypt. Oil companies have typically had more sophisticated in-house competencies to assess risk, Oetzel said, as they often have fewer choices about where they operate. However, “Many studies have shown that companies outside of the extractive industries don’t necessarily monitor political risk on a regular basis, Oetzel said in a Business Insider article. View full article (7/12/2011)

Persily Lamel Explains Why Congressional Staffers Rarely Blow the Whistle on Their Bosses
Executive-in-Residence Meredith Persily Lamel analyzed why congressional staffers rarely spill the beans on their bosses in a Roll Call article. In a congressional culture where loyalty is valued above all else, staffers rarely speak out about representatives' and senators' bad behavior because they worry about losing their jobs, future employment, or retribution. "There's essentially no upside to calling out the boss, but plenty of downside," Lamel said. "The only upside is being able to sleep at night." View full article (7/6/11)

Caren Goldberg Analyzes Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Decision
Assistant Management Professor Caren Goldberg broke down the recent Supreme Court decision regarding 1.5 million female Wal-Mart employees and sex discrimination for the official Russian radio station, Voice of Russia. Goldberg said the Court did not make a decision on the merits of the case itself — sex discrimination — but on whether all women who have been employed at Walmarts across the country, 1.5 million people, make up a class. “It, in some sense, was a victory for Wal-Mart in that no employer wants to deal with 1.5 million plaintiffs, obviously that gets quite expensive,” Goldberg said. The women can, however, individually file lawsuits; and the ruling does not necessarily mean that all corporations may be exempt from a class action suit of similar size in the future, Goldberg explained. Listen to complete report (7/2/11)